Suddenly I See
by Leigh Adams15
Summary: Percy's life was completely regimented until the day she walked into his world.


**Title**: Suddenly I See (1/1)  
**Characters**: Percy Weasley/Katie Bell  
**Rating**: PG  
**Word Count**: 1,649  
**Summary**: Percy's life was entirely regimented until _she_ showed up.  
**Author's Notes**: This was written for the 2010 Winter Fic Exchange at the LiveJournal community rarepair_shorts. It was my first fic exchange, and I really enjoyed doing it. Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Sam, for reassuring me that I didn't suck and could still write despite my crisis of confidence.

Order.

It was the modus operandi by which Percy Weasley, head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, lived his life. Everything happened according to routine; he rose at half past five to begin the day and was at the office at precisely seven o'clock. He took his morning tea and _The Daily Prophet_ at seven-thirty. He would spend half an hour perusing the paper, always reading the sections in the same order- News, Business, Finance, Sports, Arts & Entertainment- before the day's round of meetings would begin.

His desk was perfectly organized. Two eagle feather quills, tips sharpened to _just_ the right point, lay to the right of his planner. His inbox, correspondence perfectly organized according to priority, sat in the right-hand corner of his desk, while a small candle sat on the left-hand side. His nameplate, the only personal touch in the entire room, was perfectly polished and directly in front of him.

Everything was perfectly regimented, executed according to plan. Everything, that was, except his assistant.

Katherine Elizabeth Bell was the exact opposite. How she'd wound up as his executive assistant, Percy didn't know. Well, that wasn't true; he did know. She'd undergone two interviews, and that was that. The Minister of Magic himself had recommended her for the job, as she had served as his scheduler for eight months prior. That wasn't the point, though. The point was that Katie Bell was _mental_.

She was utterly incapable of arriving at work on time. She was never really late, no, but for an obsessive-compulsive man, her two-minute tardiness was grating. While she always dressed like the consummate professional that she was, there was always one little thing out of place. One day it would be her hair, another day she would have a small coffee stain on her blouse, a run in her stockings, or the leather of her shoes would be scuffed. Her desk was an absolute disaster zone, and he was slightly suspicious that there might be something alive in the bottom drawer; every so often, it sounded like something was trying to get out.

Her note-taking skills were unparalleled, but her tendency to doodle on and add her commentary to said notes was enough to drive a priest to swear. For example, one time after a meeting with the French and German members of the International Confederation of Wizards, he had been less than amused to find that, courtesy of his assistant's musings via notes, that she found Jean-Luc Sénéchal extremely handsome and Hans Putzkammer, the assistant to one of the German envoys, had already invited her out for drinks that evening. The niggling little idea that he'd felt jealousy and not annoyance had been dismissed as quickly as it had arrived.

She played the wireless too loudly. Never mind that he had a private office with the strongest Silencing charms known to wizards, but whenever he called for her, he always heard a snippet of whatever song was playing at that moment. Somehow, she'd charmed the wireless to play a Muggle station, so it was _constantly_ playing bouncy, annoying pop songs. Even worse was that they were so catchy, he often found himself humming them.

Katie Bell was crazy, yes, but there was one thing that was certain.

He was crazy about her.

It was inappropriate, he knew that. He was her superior, she was his assistant, it was so _clichéd_ that it was borderline ridiculous. How many men fell for their secretaries? Even though technically, she was his assistant…not that that improved the situation.

She was fun-loving and carefree; he was obsessive-compulsive and straight laced. Her spirit was playful and generous while his was uptight and introverted. Her wit dazzled him; everything that came off her razor-sharp tongue made him admire her even more. Her mind was so quick that it left him in awe. Privately, of course. He could never…_would_ never…tell her his true feelings. It would be too improper.

Katie Bell had breezed into his life like the nymphs of Greek lore, her long brown hair whirling around her as she danced through life. Her smile lit up the entire room, and he would be lying if he denied that his eyes often lingered on her backside, framed by the form-fitting pencil skirts that she favored. Whatever perfume she wore was intoxicating and it lingered whenever she left his office, making it even harder for him to focus on the ongoing trade negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When the door opened and she slipped in, her hair pulled back in an elegant chignon and a bright smile on her face, he was torn between the urge to grin and the urge to bang his head on the desk.

_Bugger_.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mr. Weasley, these forms for the Wizengamot's ruling on imported cauldrons need your signature, you've got two owls- one from your mum about tea tomorrow evening- that need reading, and the Undersecretary from Magical Transportation would like to talk to you about Floo connections with Qatar," Katie rattled off as she set down the correspondence on his desk, already sorted out for him.

"Yes, I can sign tho- you read my owl?" Percy asked, blinking behind his glasses as he peered up at her.

Katie had to resist the urge to laugh at the expression on his face. "Yes," she answered unabashedly. "Are you going to sack me?"

"I- no."

He was cute when he blushed, she took note of for not the first time. There was a pink tinge to his cheeks when he glanced back down at the papers on his desk, and her expression softened when he wasn't looking.

Percy- _Mr. Weasley_, she chided internally- was decidedly _not_ her type. He was stiff, very much like his perfectly starched trousers, and obsessively neat. Not to mention the fact that he was her _boss_. Her thoughts shouldn't be where they were, and she should _not_ be entertaining the idea of snogging him silly.

Nevertheless, she was.

"Schedule Mr. Wilkes in for thirty minutes after my meeting with the Minister," he said, interrupting her little daydream. His precise quill scratched against the parchment, signing _Percival Ignatius Weasley_ with a flourish. He handed the documents over to her with a small nod, his focus returning back to the memo that he'd been reading when she took them from him.

"And the owl from your mum?" Katie prompted. Her lips twitched downwards when Percy sighed and took off his glasses, reaching up to massage his temples. Migraines plagued him on occasion, and while there was nothing she could do to stop him, she wished she could do _something_ to make him feel better.

"Do I have to?" he asked, sounding entirely like a petulant child who didn't want to finish all their vegetables. Not that she thought Percy was like that as a child; quite the opposite, really. He had probably been the Weasley to finish all his broccoli and then ask Molly for more.

On a whim- one that, in reflection, would look extremely foolhardy and inappropriate- Katie set the papers down and leaned across the desk to place her fingers at his temples.

"You don't have to," she murmured, rubbing her fingers in small, clockwise circles, "but I think your mum will be disappointed if you don't."

When he didn't respond, she glanced down at him. He was frozen in place, his eyes, wide with shock, locked on hers and his mouth slightly agape. It made her hastily drop her hands and take a step back in retreat, grabbing the signed papers and hugging them to her chest in an unconscious sign of self-defense.

"I'll just tell her that you have a late meeting and won't be able to make it," she said in a rush. Her gaze dropped to the floor, then to his desk, unable to look him in the eye. _Merlin, Katie, why are you such a spontaneous spaz?_

She was turning to go when she heard his chair push back from the desk, and the sound of footsteps were audible in the quiet room. "Wait."

He was behind her, she could feel him there, and in that moment, something in her snapped. Uncaring about the slightly open door, she took a deep breath and whirled about to face him. She had a split-second to take in his concerned face before she reached up to cup his neck, pulling his lips down to hers.

Katie was just about to pull away when she felt his hands come to rest on her hips and pull her closer to him. Her lips curled against his, and she let the papers she'd been grasping flutter to the floor. At his little whimper of protest, she snickered and twined her arms around his neck. This kiss, _their_ first kiss, was the best first kiss she'd ever had.

When they finally broke apart, Percy said immediately, "You can't work for me anymore."

"What?" she gasped. "You're sacking me?"

"What? No!" he said quickly. "Of course not. I'm just going to transfer you to a different office. You see," he cupped her cheek in his hand, brushing his thumb over the smooth skin, "you can't work for me because I would like to court you, Miss Bell."

"Did you just say you want to _court_ me?"

Percy huffed. "All of that, and you're taking note of my terminology?"

She giggled. "Point taken," she said with a quick grin. Her heart was all aflutter, a giddy feeling she hadn't experienced since she was fourteen and Lee Jordan had asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Yes. Are you accepting?"

Lips twitching into a small smile, she went up on tiptoe and gave him a soft, chaste kiss. "Yes," she whispered against his lips. "Take me out, Mr. Weasley."

"Percy," he murmured, "it's Percy."


End file.
